I love how this film is not a loving homage to the Mad Max films like DOOMSDAY was, but is instead a loving tribute to the many low-budget ripoff films, like EXTERMINATORS IN THE YEAR 2000 or BATTLETRUCK or my personal favorite WHEELS OF FIRE. I loved these moves as a kid and love them just as much today. Author Brian Keene had a great observation that these warriors-of-the-wasteland films offer the same sort of wish fulfillment to Gen-X that westerns offered Baby Boomers, with a man alone in a lawless world finding their way. This film taps into that more than any other by making the main character a teenager and somehow manages to be a film you could describe as "sweet" which is not how you would describe almost every other Mad Max ripoff, which were nearly all decidedly pretty rough. Anyhow, this film is an unbelievable treat for anyone who loves these types of films. Below is my review from the first time I watched TURBO KID in 2016.
5-14-16 Turbo Kid (2015) **** A love letter to 80s post-apocalyptic films is kind of "Mad Max" meets the "BMX Bandits," though I think this film was likely more honoring goofy post-apocalyptic films like "Solarbabies" or "Hell Comes to Frogtown" than "The Road Warrior." Regardless, this tale is set in the distant future of 1997 when acid rain makes drinkable water a scarce resource, our teen hero finds a special red outfit and decides to become a superhero of the wastelands. He meets a cute girl named Apple, who then gets captured by the evil Michael Ironside, who plays Zeus (in a very similar role to what he played in "Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone" as Overdog). The film is slickly made and presents a beautifully shot acid rain-soaked wasteland. Probably best of all is a terrific 80s-style score by Le Matos, which I plan to listen to repeatedly (and that theme song is 80s AMAZING!). My main complaint about the film is the unneeded gore. I consider myself a bit of a gorehound and quite enjoy some Tom Savini or Rob Bottin special effects now and then, so it isn't that I'm opposed to a gory movie, but the tone of this film was so light and silly (very nearly a family film) that the blood and gore seemed very out of place, even when it was done in a very comic Peter Jackson over-the-top sort of way. Also, most of the warriors-of-the-wasteland films to which this movie is paying homage were never all that gory. Yes, they were violent, but they were rarely what I would call gory. Still, that's a minor quibble considering warriors-of-the-wasteland post-apocalyptic films of the 80s are probably my all-time favorite subgenre, anytime a film is wanting to revisit this unique setting, I'm all for it! I can't wait to see what comes next for writer/directors François Simard, Anouk Whissell, and Yoann-Karl Whissell (which apparently is a short film called "Ninja Eliminator 4: The French Connection").
5-14-16 Turbo Kid (2015) **** A love letter to 80s post-apocalyptic films is kind of "Mad Max" meets the "BMX Bandits," though I think this film was likely more honoring goofy post-apocalyptic films like "Solarbabies" or "Hell Comes to Frogtown" than "The Road Warrior." Regardless, this tale is set in the distant future of 1997 when acid rain makes drinkable water a scarce resource, our teen hero finds a special red outfit and decides to become a superhero of the wastelands. He meets a cute girl named Apple, who then gets captured by the evil Michael Ironside, who plays Zeus (in a very similar role to what he played in "Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone" as Overdog). The film is slickly made and presents a beautifully shot acid rain-soaked wasteland. Probably best of all is a terrific 80s-style score by Le Matos, which I plan to listen to repeatedly (and that theme song is 80s AMAZING!). My main complaint about the film is the unneeded gore. I consider myself a bit of a gorehound and quite enjoy some Tom Savini or Rob Bottin special effects now and then, so it isn't that I'm opposed to a gory movie, but the tone of this film was so light and silly (very nearly a family film) that the blood and gore seemed very out of place, even when it was done in a very comic Peter Jackson over-the-top sort of way. Also, most of the warriors-of-the-wasteland films to which this movie is paying homage were never all that gory. Yes, they were violent, but they were rarely what I would call gory. Still, that's a minor quibble considering warriors-of-the-wasteland post-apocalyptic films of the 80s are probably my all-time favorite subgenre, anytime a film is wanting to revisit this unique setting, I'm all for it! I can't wait to see what comes next for writer/directors François Simard, Anouk Whissell, and Yoann-Karl Whissell (which apparently is a short film called "Ninja Eliminator 4: The French Connection").